Life’s too short...to never sleep in a treehouse! 8/27 TR is up! Link in siggie

[DisMomAmy]

Congratulation on the offer! And good for you going back to them to work out the $$.

Happy 30 days!!



I'll be doing mine in 4 days!!

Sounds like you have a lot on your plate for the next couple of weeks! I laughed out loud when I read that you want to paint the house too!!

 

[GreatBiscuit]

Congrats Cynthia!!!!

It sounds complex, but I know it will all work out in the end!

 

[jordanyosh]

Holy update Batman!

I'm at work..I'll be back to read tonight

 

[eandesmom]

Congratulation on the offer! And good for you going back to them to work out the $$.

Happy 30 days!!



I'll be doing mine in 4 days!!

Sounds like you have a lot on your plate for the next couple of weeks! I laughed out loud when I read that you want to paint the house too!!

yeah, like that's going to happen

but a girl can dream.

Congrats Cynthia!!!!

It sounds complex, but I know it will all work out in the end!

It's probably not nearly as complex as I made it sound

Holy update Batman!

I'm at work..I'll be back to read tonight

sorry. Should have broken it into 2 posts!

I was waiting to update for a reason, wanted it actually signed sealed and delivered.

And now...I'm just filled with PEACE!

it's so cool.........

 

[Charleston Princess]

Congratulations on the offer, Cynthia!!! Your excitement is very apparent in your writing! Hurray for being able to work out everything to your liking!

The puzzles turned out fantastic!!! What a great time the boys are going to have putting those together!

 

[Happydog]

Hey! Wow!!! All this was really fascinating.. I totally get the after care/before care $$... It is foolish if you only need it for a short time! And all your explanation about job offers, etc. that is so foreign to me having worked for the same place for over a decade! It is funny to see how the private sector does it! Your plans all sound really great. You are really spending a LONG vacation in FL!!!! But if you are flying all the way from WA, it makes sense! Take advantage of it! Absolutely. You never know about the birthday cruise, either! But in the meantime, enjoy getting ready for Spring break and SUMMER!!! We have one more week before our break. THANK GOODNESS!!!

Looking forward to hearing more, can you believe you will be a regular 9 -5 in a few weeks??!!! So glad it worked out for you!!!

 

[glennbo123]

Big update! Glad the offer was decent and that you were able to get some small concessions. I'm paid monthly and it's okay once you get going, but in the beginning it can be a little rough, no doubt.

Good luck on getting all of the details worked-out, like child-care, etc. etc. It sounds like you've got a lot to get done before work begins.

The jigsaw puzzles look great!

 

[Charleston Princess]

I forgot to mention that as a teacher I get paid monthly. At first, it was an adjustment, but now I am completely used to it. The only thing that stinks is we get paid right before we get out for the December break, and then, not again until the end of January. You probably won't have to deal with that though.

 

[MaryAz]

Congrats on the offer and new job! Good for you for going back to them with your needs.
I can TOTALLY understand not wanting to pay $700 a month for an hour a day. I bet they will be just fin. And the added TV time is a bonus.
Great puzzles and binder pages. Also glad the "sporty" weekend worked out in the end. Hurray for 30 days!!

 

[All7OfUs]

That was some mother-of-all-updates! Glad I had my coffee ready and rolling!

$700 a month?!! for and hour of afterschool care??

NO WAY!?

I think they'll do fine for the short time until you get home! A phone call will be great!!

I admit, I didn't understand about the no pay for a month, acuary tables and all that; I'm highly impressed you get it. Maybe I'm simple-minded. for me it'd be like, ok, when do I start, how much you paying me, and can I still go to WDW?

PUzzles turned out cute!! Packing without them seeing?? That's an ambitious endeavor- good luck!

 

[eandesmom]

Congratulations on the offer, Cynthia!!! Your excitement is very apparent in your writing! Hurray for being able to work out everything to your liking!

The puzzles turned out fantastic!!! What a great time the boys are going to have putting those together!

Thanks! And thank you again for the great idea, I'm thrilled with them and would definitely use this company again.

Hey! Wow!!! All this was really fascinating.. I totally get the after care/before care $$... It is foolish if you only need it for a short time! And all your explanation about job offers, etc. that is so foreign to me having worked for the same place for over a decade! It is funny to see how the private sector does it! Your plans all sound really great. You are really spending a LONG vacation in FL!!!! But if you are flying all the way from WA, it makes sense! Take advantage of it! Absolutely. You never know about the birthday cruise, either! But in the meantime, enjoy getting ready for Spring break and SUMMER!!! We have one more week before our break. THANK GOODNESS!!!

Looking forward to hearing more, can you believe you will be a regular 9 -5 in a few weeks??!!! So glad it worked out for you!!!

I can relate, until 2 years ago I'd been at the same place for 13 years! So in many ways, it's all foreign to me too.

8-5 'er but yeah, it will be weird!

It's pretty cool though, I'll work for 2 weeks, have a vacation, be back for 4 months, have a LONG vacation...no complaints here for sure!

Not as many as YOU but that's another story.

Bday cruise could happen, it will just depend on what that Jan bonus looks like and availability. It's not out of the question, just not in the plan either.

Big update! Glad the offer was decent and that you were able to get some small concessions. I'm paid monthly and it's okay once you get going, but in the beginning it can be a little rough, no doubt.

Good luck on getting all of the details worked-out, like child-care, etc. etc. It sounds like you've got a lot to get done before work begins.

The jigsaw puzzles look great!

It will be an adjustment for sure going to a monthly check, it;s funny, Jeff and I should swap bills. He covers the big monthly (mortgage) and I get all the rest which are not due at the same time.



It will be a process migrating all of that.

It is VERY interesting to see the camps the E's are leaning towards. Not what I might have picked so I guess it's good I am getting their input.

I forgo
t to mention that as a teacher I get paid monthly. At first, it was an adjustment, but now I am completely used to it. The only thing that stinks is we get paid right before we get out for the December break, and then, not again until the end of January. You probably won't have to deal with that though.

Well no, I won't have that but I won't have a December paycheck until after Christmas so that will be interesting!

Congrats on the offer and new job! Good for you for going back to them with your needs.
I can TOTALLY understand not wanting to pay $700 a month for an hour a day. I bet they will be just fin. And the added TV time is a bonus.
Great puzzles and binder pages. Also glad the "sporty" weekend worked out in the end. Hurray for 30 days!!

Thanks, I feel like a bad mom...latchkey kids and all that but it is just nuts to pay that kind of money. I've tried having them go to someone else's house after school and it was just a major headache as they had their own sports etc to deal with and the headache wasn't worth the cheap price, even if it was free!

 

[eandesmom]

That was some mother-of-all-updates! Glad I had my coffee ready and rolling!

$700 a month?!! for and hour of afterschool care??

NO WAY!?

I think they'll do fine for the short time until you get home! A phone call will be great!!

I admit, I didn't understand about the no pay for a month, acuary tables and all that; I'm highly impressed you get it. Maybe I'm simple-minded. for me it'd be like, ok, when do I start, how much you paying me, and can I still go to WDW?

PUzzles turned out cute!! Packing without them seeing?? That's an ambitious endeavor- good luck!

Yeah...I should have done 2 posts.

Isn't that crazy? Granted, that's with the easy option. It's at Evan's school which is where Eric's bus ends up. So it's easy. BUT you have to pay for 2.5 hours worth of care and I need an hour. I could do 3 or 4 days a week but it's still...a LOT. Any other option, no matter how much less, really complicates life all around. BTDT, not going there if I don't have to. If you break it down it's about $7 an hour, actually a little less, per kid. So in that sense, not outrageous but....sure should be a multi kid discount!

Well it's really as simple as....can I pay my bills? And then go backwards from there.

And yes, thankfully I can still go to WDW. And still probably swing that Illuminations cruise even though we added 2 days. OMG it's become a monster of a trip! I am so excited. Heck I am so excited for DCA in THIRTY DAYS!



You'd be amazed at what I can pull off without them noticing. Children, while wonderfully nosy...are also wonderfully self-absorbed!

 

[MEK]

Well, it seems that things are coming together really well for you. Yes - you have a lot to do in the next two weeks, but you will do it!

Congrats on the acceptable job offer. How fortuante you will be to be so close to home. $700 a month for child care for 1 hr a day is outrageous. I really don't remember when I started leaving my kids alone, but it certainly seems like a reasonable choice.

for 30 days to DCA! That is so great. I am also glad you decided to add HRH to the end of your trip. It just makes sense. By the end of the trip you do NOT want to be switching rooms again.

Can't see your puzzles right now, but I'm sure they are great.

 

[Sleepingbooty]

Wow, Cynthia - If I were you I think my head would be spinning right now! Good thing the CA trip is only a month away.

I laughed when you said you were excited about having your own office - I would totally be the same way!

Adjusting to a new pay schedule is tough. We had to go from a twice-a-month to an every-other-week, which sounds similar enough that it wouldn't be a problem, but it really threw my budgeting for a loop! Essentially, it meant that each paycheck would be smaller, but twice a year we'd get an extra one. I slaved over my excel budget spreadsheets for hours to figure out how to work with it. But, like everyone else said, you get used to it after the first month or two.

Congrats on everything coming together!

 

[carissanboys]

I think your decision for after school is just fine. I can understand your hesitation, but I'm sure they will be fine. I have left Sully (who turns 10 in May) at home for short periods of time (when I wasn't going very far) and he was fine. I was a bit nervous, but he's a responsible kid. I think the fact that you will be working so close and have neighbors around if they need something makes a big difference.

 

[eandesmom]

Well, it seems that things are coming together really well for you. Yes - you have a lot to do in the next two weeks, but you will do it!

Congrats on the acceptable job offer. How fortuante you will be to be so close to home. $700 a month for child care for 1 hr a day is outrageous. I really don't remember when I started leaving my kids alone, but it certainly seems like a reasonable choice.

for 30 days to DCA! That is so great. I am also glad you decided to add HRH to the end of your trip. It just makes sense. By the end of the trip you do NOT want to be switching rooms again.

Can't see your puzzles right now, but I'm sure they are great.

Thanks! I am so excited. It is so funny...of course now that I have the offer, have accepted it, I've had two other jobs pop up that people want to talk to me about. Neither nearly as good or as interesting but still, funny.

I have a lot of friends starting to leave kids alone at Evan's age so it's in the ballpark of what others are doing. Some started last year and while he might have been ok, Eric was definitely too young. I have left them for 15-20 minutes before, not often but I think it will be ok and the reality is Evan is getting old enough where I need to be able to trust him alone for an hour or more.

He was cute though, he agreed he wasn't comfortable being alone in the mornings as he might miss the bus. So everyone's happy.

Sadly...both boys are REALLY happy about the summer plans. They were bored out of their minds last summer, stuck with me and no money for camps. They are over the moon with their lineup of things.

Wow, Cynthia - If I were you I think my head would be spinning right now! Good thing the CA trip is only a month away.

I laughed when you said you were excited about having your own office - I would totally be the same way!

Adjusting to a new pay schedule is tough. We had to go from a twice-a-month to an every-other-week, which sounds similar enough that it wouldn't be a problem, but it really threw my budgeting for a loop! Essentially, it meant that each paycheck would be smaller, but twice a year we'd get an extra one. I slaved over my excel budget spreadsheets for hours to figure out how to work with it. But, like everyone else said, you get used to it after the first month or two.

Congrats on everything coming together!

Jeff was so funny, he told me he had his own office once...and hated it. I hate feeling like everyone is listening to my conversations...bleh. I am very excited to have my own space again. VERY!

I did the opposite of what you had to go through, I went from every other week to 1st and 15th and it was really tough, it completely threw my budgeting for a loop as well. I think this will be easier than that, and is better than once a week but it makes me nervous. I loved the every other week schedule. Thankfully that's what Jeff has.

Still. I've been manipulating things in Quicken for 2 days straight!

I cannot wait for CA!

 

[eandesmom]

I think your decision for after school is just fine. I can understand your hesitation, but I'm sure they will be fine. I have left Sully (who turns 10 in May) at home for short periods of time (when I wasn't going very far) and he was fine. I was a bit nervous, but he's a responsible kid. I think the fact that you will be working so close and have neighbors around if they need something makes a big difference.

Thanks Evan will be 11 in June and Eric 10 in Sept. They were pretty cute about it. I told them I had a plan but we needed to talk about it and it was going to have rules. LOTS of rules. Evan guessed what it was right away and told me he needed to have snack and homework first.

He's pretty stoked, he has friends that get left alone and he hasn't been and it's been really frustrating him that we haven't allowed it yet.

I am counting on Eric to rat him out though if need be!

 

[All7OfUs]

You'd be amazed at what I can pull off without them noticing. Children, while wonderfully nosy...are also wonderfully self-absorbed!

I'm just interested in watching HOW you do it!!

 

[eandesmom]

I'm just interested in watching HOW you do it!!

Actually I think I may pack for them 2 weeks before, the Sat before Easter. Only concern is that if it gets nice enough that they notice favorite shorts or tees are "missing"

They'll be with my mom for a good 1-2 hours dying eggs....perfect pack time if you ask me!

It does help that our room is off limits to kids so I can have a suitcase packed in there without them having a clue.

Then again, on the off chance the sneaks go in, or need shorts I could just have all their stuff in a laundry basket in my room, they'd never think of a hamper as pre-staging for packing for a surprise trip!

 

[All7OfUs]

Actually I think I may pack for them 2 weeks before, the Sat before Easter. Only concern is that if it gets nice enough that they notice favorite shorts or tees are "missing"

They'll be with my mom for a good 1-2 hours dying eggs....perfect pack time if you ask me!

It does help that our room is off limits to kids so I can have a suitcase packed in there without them having a clue.

Then again, on the off chance the sneaks go in, or need shorts I could just have all their stuff in a laundry basket in my room, they'd never think of a hamper as pre-staging for packing for a surprise trip!

Hamper is a perfect idea!! I love that!!!

Shorts weather in March/April?? In Seattle?? Unlikely. But stranger things have happened.